This month’s MENA Cooking Club country is Malta, hosted by Yasmeen of the lovely blog Wandering Spice.
Malta is a sun-drenched archipelago in the Mediterranean. It’s gorgeous, and seems almost otherwordly; it’s thought to be the home of the lost city of Atlantis, as well as Calypso’s cave from the odyssey.
These pastizzi are a common street food – puff pastry with fillings such as ricotta, curried split peas, or ground meat. I had just made a lasagna to take to my friend who just had a baby, so it seemed perfect to use the leftover ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan to make these little bites. I used store bought puff pastry as I’ve not yet been brave enough to attempt my own, but that made these extremely quick to whip up, which makes them the perfect low-maintenance tea snack or appetizer.
I’d definitely make these again, and I’d love to try some of the other fillings, or add some herbs to this one. Next time I’ll pinch them shut a little tighter so the filling doesn’t escape, and probably do an egg wash too for a nice golden color.
Three Cheese Pastizzi
- 1/2 cup ricotta
1/4 cup grated mozzarella
1/4 cup grated parmesan
salt & pepper
2 sheets puff pastry, partially thawed
Heat oven to 400°. Mix together cheeses and season with salt and pepper to taste. With a ring cutter, cut each sheet of puff pastry into 9 rings. Fill each ring with a heaping teaspoon of the cheese mixture, then pinch the edges together and twist the ends to make little oblong pouch shapes.
Place evenly on a prepared baking sheet and cook 17-19 minutes (start checking around 15 to make sure they aren’t getting too brown. Mine took 18) until golden brown. Cool slightly and serve warm.
If you want to become a pastizzi master and make your own puff pastry, here’s a great little video for inspiration, complete with song about pastizzi!
Photograph of the azure window Stuart Brampton Photography